You might want to do an IR camera crack check on those panels now. They're *able* to flex but not intended to flex while in operation and the cells themselves will still get damaged. A lightweight yet rigid mounting substrate would be advised, or at minimum a support grid underneath.
The flexible ones at our local camping store come rolled up in a box. Is it best to never roll them up again once unfolded? What's the IR camera test? is that when you put voltage back into the panels and film it with your phone to see what lights up and what doesnt?
Micro fractures from the flexing is going to kill the panels very quickly. As suggested, use a thermal camera and take progressive photos to track their decline. You will definitely already have fractures.
@@nickorbeck8693even without flex, the flexible panel will lose a lot of peak output because of the degradation in the top protective layer There are already many videos explaining about that.
Winch was probably pulling the spud up out of the water, the huge metal spike that goes into the river bed to hold the barge in place while the crane works.
you can also flip the motors around and have them in a pull configuration. they also do this on large ships with azipods so the prop can take in clean water.
Nice video! Some bio-corrections (based on taking marine science like 40 years ago): The "sea slug" was actually a sea cucumber. And the anenome-like things are tube worms.
For your solar panels, I feel like you're either going to drop a main pin or a cotter pin into the water eventually. I think a "ratchet" system might have been better for controlling the position of the panels. Using pins looks tedious and it's an accident just waiting to happen.
I love how curious Daniel is about everything going on around him. What all the ships are probably doing, how much they cost, how they got there, who owns them, how they operate etc. he reminds me a lot of myself that’s why I enjoy watching his videos. Also a great teacher. Explains difficult things in a simple way. Don’t ever stop making these videos !!!
surprised how practical this is, making the Tech Ingredients catamaran combined with solid sunpower rigid panels for a roof would make a hell of a boat!
I absolutely love the dialogue and description narration of what you were seeing and where it was with details. Feels like you were hanging out with you both, makes for great content to listen and watch.
For this setup and maybe in the feature V2 version, there are two-sided solar panels, so with the water reflection or the roof reflection you could give a good amount of energy with even 1 panel ( Same size of one set that u have in the side). Additionally for the roof would be interesting to have a system that elevates the left or right side depending on the sun's attack angle
Excellent POC. You showed a catamaran as a better choice which I would NOT deny. A better choice again would be an outrigger trimaran with long and thin hulls for very low hydraulic drag. The outrigger struts could be furnished with very many panels, and potentially made to be fully or partially walked on. Good luck, I look forward to whatever you do.
@@Doki_LP Bought the two floaters of a catamaran and a two seater kayak such that I can assemble it either as a trimaran or as a kayak with a "solar trailer" (3kW solar power) Just refurbished the floaters, starting to build the aluminium structure for enlarging the catamaran and getting the solar roof in place. Sooner or later I will put it on my website.
The roof is sooooooo much better of an idea. Shade on the open lake is pretty important, especially for something that goes slow and will be cruising for hours. They also get in the way and are easy to damage when docking. They are also a paint to adjust. Also some panels loose all power if even a small area is shaded. It would be cool to do a solar house boat. My dad had an old Boston Whaler built in the 70s. It had a nice outboard motor and a driver spot in the middle on the right side. Having the flat bottom made it easy to beech.
A lot of other youtubers that do content like yours barely seem to explain or show any actual processes. imo, this makes your videos way more useful and entertaining than most with similar content.
i think you should try like floaters next to the boat to support the panels and they could also add a bit more wave protection and displacement to avoid expensive tipping
These types of videos you make are addicting, anything on the water especially practical ones like this (not small rc stuff) are amazing. I can’t get enough of this type of content.
With how much it gets pushed around in the wind it really feels like it might be worth figuring out a way of getting propulsion from the huge panel area you have. Not that it's a great hull design for it; but perhaps a self-aligning wingsail like Saildrone?
Your boat videos are honestly my favorite of your catalog. All great stuff but these really do it for me. The unlimited range solar electric boat sounds like a dream
I recently saw a huge cruise ship with propellers that pull instead of push and they said it's done for efficiency, makes sense to me. Might be something to try.
Great concept. Imagine doing this commercially. Like you are on a lake vacation. And you rent an electric boat with solar panels shading your on the roof. You can chill, fish or even speed along the lake - with no emissions. Thats so cool. And it would not even be that expensive boat to build.
I cant believe it's already been a year since you built that boat. That was the first video of yours that I watched, and I remember thinking how crazy you were. My opinion hasn't changed but you have made that little boat into something awesome! :P
Thanks for this. I’m trying to get to Seattle because it feels more like home than here. Seeing all the port activities renewed my interest to getting there and I was greatly encouraged.
That is a cool proof of concept. I've been wanting to build a solar-powered boat for the last two years but my wife won't let me (yet). My plan is to use cellular PVC sheets (screwed and plastic welded) with a roof. The idea is the swivel the solar panels to close the sides of the roof area. For example, in good weather, the sun-facing side would be down and the opposite side would be fully up so both are facing the sun. In poor weather, the sides could be brought down to protect the passengers. The panels on the roof and battery could be used. I think the panel on the roof alone would be fine, at a slower speed. It's important to have ballast below when there is more weight up higher. I would put a thick keel on it with the batteries sealed in there. Actually, I was thinking about Skelcap super capacitors, instead of batteries. Supercapacitors won't lose life over any number or recharges and they charge faster. At first, a battery will have more capacity but this decreases over time until the battery is eventually useless.
i think a mast would be a perfect way to be able to deploy the panels, and help support their weight. then you would struggle less, and can have a stronger support structure for the panels. and i might add, you should have some pontoons you can deploy on the ends of those wings. and also, it may be a good idea to have a permanent mount for the brackets. that way you wont loose your panels and benches in the worst case scenario of a flip over in bad sudden surf. i might also add, you could create a battery bank structure, such that they where both balanced, and fully secured. perhaps have them on the side walls to act as extra side benches, with a cover to lift up to access, and would seal the battery compartments from any water, period. lots of improvements possible, and i would love to see the evolution of those improvements, such that an end product could be made that could even be marketed. now, on that note, if you did eventually go to a roof solar cover, i would want to add stability mechanisms or blast and, pontoons to the sides. but i would also keep the transforming ability of folded panels, so then you could in theory have a single central panel on the roof, and a transforming flower like array built in, such that once deployed, the stationary roof panel is uncovered, and you increase the panel area immensely, without too much stability changes.
i swear who ever can get to market with one of these small efficient solar boats is going to do very well i thought i would start to see them a couple years ago but still no one has
If you use flexible solar panel I bet you could use them as a sail, too ;) And save on weight. Even the rigid ones could work this way. Alternatively, could add a pontoon so that it has the pontoon in the water when its lowered, to take stress off the panel.
I'd like to imagine the blackberry guy looking out on the water from his yacht, seeing your boat towing along 6 kayakers, and saying to himself, "Yes. This is the technology I envisioned for the future."
Awesome! There is nothing better than that freedom. Concerns with survivability in bad weather, and with the UV damage against longevity. But I think you proved that riverine work may be quite functional. Double sided panels will allow you to upright both panels for whatever, while still giving good gain from reflection.
I love seeing where these adventures go; I wasn't sure what was going to happen when you did the boat restoration video all those months ago, but I'm always pleased to see when a new chapter comes out.
I have an idea I think you'd like if you ever do a roof. You could make a roof that is held up by 4 (or 3) robotically adjustable bars, that attach to the solar panel with ball joints. Then have those bars auto adjust via an array of light sensors (or anything, lots of solutions), to always have your panel pointed at the sun!
a three axis motion platform would require 6 struts, not 4 or 3, (unless you wanted a huge support in the middle of the boat,) and would be astronomically heavy and complex for a boat.
@@williamcampbell9859 Only one axis would be needed to replicate the existing solution, and three axes would never be needed - why would you need to swivel the panels?
@@MrManningata true, swivel is not necessary - two axes would be sufficient to quote "always have your panel pointed at the sun". I hereby invite you to design a system with 3 or 4 linear actuators holding up the panel, attached via ball joints, that can rotate the panel in two axes.
You’re a really clever fella, I’m impressed by every single one of your projects and tests. … so, I was very surprised when you used the (non) word ‘gooses’ 😂. Geese mate, the plural is geese 😁👍
Auto angle optimizing solar panel mounts would be rad. Optical scheme for detecting direction of the sun with respect to the boat’s current heading. Use that information to control panel angle - elevation and maybe twist. Also include a sea state detection logic to put the panels at a safe angle when encountering waves. Future project. Using the panels as a dronopad was fun. Looking forward to the V2 boat! Should have a fixed roof and foldout panels too..
I think the side mounted system is great! Better for trailering, basically twice the area compared to just a roof and it makes use of otherwise unused space. Very inspiring video.👍🏼
This is very cool. I agree with your idea that a displacement hull would be a better choice. The locally made (North Bend) EPCarry pushes 10-14’ rowboats to roughly hull speed (4ish knots) on only 250W of power. The owner there also wrote a blog post a couple of years ago about playing with solar boats. Interesting takeaways there (besides the hull form) are his use of high aspect and long RC airplane props. The ultimate conversion would be on a Duffy 21, the electric rental boats on Lake Union. They were designed by local sailing legend Bob Perry and are very efficient through the water. The standard motor and lead acid batteries could be greatly improved with BLDC motors and LFP batteries. The roof would give you lots of room for the solar array. I look forward to seeing what comes next in this project. I’m a big sailor but also love EV boats. We have a 10’ Gig Harbor rowboat that is great with the EPCarry, but something longer and with solar would be a fun next step.
I love it when I get to learn about a cool industry product or technical thing from a sponsor spot instead of just having the same trendy stuff that's in every TH-cam video. I'll make an exception for your Factor ads because having a quick meal available in the shop or out testing a project is much more interesting than just eating them at home 😂
Large ships using the motor pod design run everything backwards to avoid that issue with the wake. One of Adam Savage's recent videos of him checking out underneath a new ship in drydock had a good explanation but it is basically to avoid the imbalance issue with the prop.
Bros --- quality time with quality dudes and quality wisdom --- and of course quality subscribers -- thank you for this wonderful video --- we keep learning from you cool dudes
A solar roof would be much less flexible *and* provide cover from the rain! You could make the legs fold up and tuck under the solar panels so that the roof is 'flat packed' for transport. They could engage in one receiver each built into the hull when up.
On the solar panels, i think that putting another hinge point in the middle of the solar panel would be a good idea. Then you can have both panels oriented in the sun simply by twisting the panel closest to the sun so it faces it and having the other regular. jm2c
What a great project. I've always heard flexible solar panels have a short life unless they are kept free from excessive vibration and flex. I just subscribed to the channel to see future updates and projects. Thanks for the adventure.
Having owned one of the Wintech Cats for rowing coaching I can confirm that they are very easily drive and would make a great platform for your project. Just a lot more expensive than a renovated Boston!
Congratulations you made it. You maybe make a solar mini yacht or a bigger boat with a sleeping cabin and sleep in it overnight if in the waters there isn’t to much boat traffic
Hi Daniel! Do you know about Berkeley Pit in Montana? It is a lake so toxic that migrating birds that land on it are scared away by people otherwise they risk dying after a few hours. I think your solar powered boat could help them a lot in this mission, as it could be programmed to autonomously go around the lake and scare the birds (and save their lives). Check out the story of this lake (Insider Business has a nice video about it on TH-cam), they use a lot of tools like drones, lasers and fake bullets to scare birds. I think an autonomous solar powered boat could be a huge help to them. Keep up with the great work!
I actually think the best configuration would be a solar roof with these 2 panels as sides for the extra juice, on a catamaran hull though. That would give you a nice amount of power to either go faster or make the boat slightly bigger/heavier. But at the same time the panels could also make an enclosed cabin to shield you from rain if you do manage to make slightly water proof.
Next step is to add a small air pump to get some bubbles between the boat and the water to decrease the power needed. If the air pump does not need to much power you could have more solar power left over to drive faster
Love these trips you take with the solar boat. Even tho I've lived in Seattle my whole life. Your trip around lake Washington or this trip up the duwamish seem like such fun adventures. Thanks for filming it all! I know that little park with a "boat launch" off airport way too. The video doesn't do how steep it really is justice 😂. Glad u made it out safely
Incredible job! I have been dreaming about doing something like this out here in Florida. Definitely want to do a roof design so I can get out of the brutal sun. Now imagine this with rigid panels that can make 3x the power!
Badass, im doing a similar project albeit snaller scale. Im just using a 10'2" plastic jon/bass boat with a 7' x 10' rectangular umbrella which ive tested at speed, in big waves, and high winds. The key is guide/support wires on all 4 corners which make it surprisingly stable. I just need to acquire some flexible light solar panels to mount on the top of the umbrella as im already powering it with a 700 watt trolling motor.
Remember to get a carabiner hook with the locking nut, boats in a marina that are connected via regular carbainer hooks is at risk of the carabiners unhooking over time due to waves and wind and several boats have gotten loose because they had only been secured by 2 carabiners. I can almost guarantee you that anchor is gonna find a way out of that carabiner one day, simple fix to not lose it c:
I think adding outriggers to the bottom on the solar cells would help. This reduces the load and moment on the seats. This could easily be done with pool noodles and PVC pipe. Sealing the PVC would add also add bouncy.
You could 3d print a hydrofoil for your whaler and increase efficiency and top speed, also improving stability in waves. One alternative to increase range and speed I’d recommend is a small sail setup (like a Sunfish sail), with a small retractable swinging keel or centerboard setup. If you need any help with design, let me know! Sails are cheaper than extra batteries
Personally, I would’ve taken one panel from each wing, and make a small roof to give you some shade and also limit the torque on the mounting hardware while also giving you more maneuverability because you’d be more narrow. Two long wings on each side and a small roof would probably look pretty cool too. My only worry is that the roof might shade the side panels at certain angles and times.. but you seem to have more than enough power so that’s fine. Either way, I’m loving this boat and looking forward to mk2!
4:44 They sold their phones so expensive, that it doesnt matter that they are crap xD 7:13 Oh, I love these swimming houses. They are so cool, as you can live dry when it come to flooding due to unstoping rain.
Looks like a fun time cruising around and looking at stuff. I think you could build a roof for the solar panels pretty quickly with a TIG welder (or maybe MIG with aluminum friendly wire?) That's a skill that would serve you well going forward. The precut parts would go together really easily, or you could make it out of tubing stock. With welding skills from that, you could make a life-size tank with the tank tech you've been working on.
Circumnavigation of the earth when?
a video about that comes when he is 100 years old
Fully autonomous
About 67, 000 miles to circumnavigate the south pole. 😎
Already been done by solar plane
Asking the true questions!
You might want to do an IR camera crack check on those panels now. They're *able* to flex but not intended to flex while in operation and the cells themselves will still get damaged. A lightweight yet rigid mounting substrate would be advised, or at minimum a support grid underneath.
The easy "lightweight but rigid mounting substrate" is probably... a bunch of inches of foamboard faced with Poor Man's Fiberglass?
The flexible ones at our local camping store come rolled up in a box. Is it best to never roll them up again once unfolded? What's the IR camera test? is that when you put voltage back into the panels and film it with your phone to see what lights up and what doesnt?
Micro fractures from the flexing is going to kill the panels very quickly. As suggested, use a thermal camera and take progressive photos to track their decline. You will definitely already have fractures.
@@nickorbeck8693even without flex, the flexible panel will lose a lot of peak output because of the degradation in the top protective layer
There are already many videos explaining about that.
@@nickorbeck8693 Or even better, just buy nonflexible panels instead, at least in this case
Winch was probably pulling the spud up out of the water, the huge metal spike that goes into the river bed to hold the barge in place while the crane works.
you can also flip the motors around and have them in a pull configuration. they also do this on large ships with azipods so the prop can take in clean water.
Nice video! Some bio-corrections (based on taking marine science like 40 years ago): The "sea slug" was actually a sea cucumber. And the anenome-like things are tube worms.
you realize that these are done tongue in cheek... gooses also do not travel in herds.
For your solar panels, I feel like you're either going to drop a main pin or a cotter pin into the water eventually.
I think a "ratchet" system might have been better for controlling the position of the panels. Using pins looks tedious and it's an accident just waiting to happen.
or an linear actuator could have enough power to lift and lower it to specific degrees and wont drop the panels even if the motors fail.
Could attach the pin via cable to the boat. But that is just ignoring the main issue.
Just need some of those old fold up beach chairs.
Get one of those retaining pins and some string & tie it on the mechanism
I think he needs hydraulics.
I love how curious Daniel is about everything going on around him. What all the ships are probably doing, how much they cost, how they got there, who owns them, how they operate etc. he reminds me a lot of myself that’s why I enjoy watching his videos. Also a great teacher. Explains difficult things in a simple way. Don’t ever stop making these videos !!!
yes the technical things are nice, but it is also nice to see what is going on in that harbour.
You're really good at keeping our attention.
Very entertaining.
surprised how practical this is, making the Tech Ingredients catamaran combined with solid sunpower rigid panels for a roof would make a hell of a boat!
I absolutely love the dialogue and description narration of what you were seeing and where it was with details. Feels like you were hanging out with you both, makes for great content to listen and watch.
For this setup and maybe in the feature V2 version, there are two-sided solar panels, so with the water reflection or the roof reflection you could give a good amount of energy with even 1 panel ( Same size of one set that u have in the side). Additionally for the roof would be interesting to have a system that elevates the left or right side depending on the sun's attack angle
man i like it how you take us all out with you for a ride on the boat, explaining and showing us around like a dad lol
Definitely, a roof build would be awesome. Utilizing the sun at the same time being protected from the sun. 👍
But for balance he might install some plastic bottles at the sides.
Excellent POC. You showed a catamaran as a better choice which I would NOT deny. A better choice again would be an outrigger trimaran with long and thin hulls for very low hydraulic drag. The outrigger struts could be furnished with very many panels, and potentially made to be fully or partially walked on.
Good luck, I look forward to whatever you do.
Version 2 will have a solar roof, with solar outrigger/wings that fold up for easy access, and fold down to protect the cabin area from rain.
Exactly what I imagine 🤙
@@itsfonk
I'm about to make one.
@blueblubber6607 how's it going?
@@Doki_LP
Bought the two floaters of a catamaran and a two seater kayak such that I can assemble it either as a trimaran or as a kayak with a "solar trailer" (3kW solar power)
Just refurbished the floaters, starting to build the aluminium structure for enlarging the catamaran and getting the solar roof in place.
Sooner or later I will put it on my website.
@@blueblubber6607 👍
This project has come a long way and you've overcome a lot of challenges! Congrats on what seems like a successful trip despite the weather!
I love all of the cinematic shots with the drone and bridge I would really want to see more of that
Might help you to add buoyancy to the "wings" like outriggers, or a tri-hull catamaran.
The roof is sooooooo much better of an idea. Shade on the open lake is pretty important, especially for something that goes slow and will be cruising for hours. They also get in the way and are easy to damage when docking. They are also a paint to adjust. Also some panels loose all power if even a small area is shaded. It would be cool to do a solar house boat.
My dad had an old Boston Whaler built in the 70s. It had a nice outboard motor and a driver spot in the middle on the right side. Having the flat bottom made it easy to beech.
Came for the solar energy stayed for the awesome excursion around the dock! Keep up the great work.
You should totally go bigger and make a solar powered boat you could potentially live on for a while.
I love that you show us everything, including your failures and iterations to solve those problems.
A lot of other youtubers that do content like yours barely seem to explain or show any actual processes. imo, this makes your videos way more useful and entertaining than most with similar content.
i think you should try like floaters next to the boat to support the panels and they could also add a bit more wave protection and displacement to avoid expensive tipping
I would think any large sudden jump and smack on the waves would push the panels far higher than it does now... likely break it much faster.
These types of videos you make are addicting, anything on the water especially practical ones like this (not small rc stuff) are amazing. I can’t get enough of this type of content.
With how much it gets pushed around in the wind it really feels like it might be worth figuring out a way of getting propulsion from the huge panel area you have. Not that it's a great hull design for it; but perhaps a self-aligning wingsail like Saildrone?
Your boat videos are honestly my favorite of your catalog. All great stuff but these really do it for me. The unlimited range solar electric boat sounds like a dream
I recently saw a huge cruise ship with propellers that pull instead of push and they said it's done for efficiency, makes sense to me. Might be something to try.
Great concept. Imagine doing this commercially. Like you are on a lake vacation. And you rent an electric boat with solar panels shading your on the roof. You can chill, fish or even speed along the lake - with no emissions. Thats so cool. And it would not even be that expensive boat to build.
I cant believe it's already been a year since you built that boat. That was the first video of yours that I watched, and I remember thinking how crazy you were. My opinion hasn't changed but you have made that little boat into something awesome! :P
I feel like the Tech Ingredients crew owes us an update on their boat project now!
Giant pink foam plane at Park City school convinced me.
Thanks for this. I’m trying to get to Seattle because it feels more like home than here. Seeing all the port activities renewed my interest to getting there and I was greatly encouraged.
Love these videos, they always inspire me. Thanks for sharing! 👍
That is a cool proof of concept. I've been wanting to build a solar-powered boat for the last two years but my wife won't let me (yet). My plan is to use cellular PVC sheets (screwed and plastic welded) with a roof. The idea is the swivel the solar panels to close the sides of the roof area. For example, in good weather, the sun-facing side would be down and the opposite side would be fully up so both are facing the sun. In poor weather, the sides could be brought down to protect the passengers. The panels on the roof and battery could be used. I think the panel on the roof alone would be fine, at a slower speed. It's important to have ballast below when there is more weight up higher. I would put a thick keel on it with the batteries sealed in there. Actually, I was thinking about Skelcap super capacitors, instead of batteries. Supercapacitors won't lose life over any number or recharges and they charge faster. At first, a battery will have more capacity but this decreases over time until the battery is eventually useless.
i think a mast would be a perfect way to be able to deploy the panels, and help support their weight. then you would struggle less, and can have a stronger support structure for the panels. and i might add, you should have some pontoons you can deploy on the ends of those wings. and also, it may be a good idea to have a permanent mount for the brackets. that way you wont loose your panels and benches in the worst case scenario of a flip over in bad sudden surf. i might also add, you could create a battery bank structure, such that they where both balanced, and fully secured. perhaps have them on the side walls to act as extra side benches, with a cover to lift up to access, and would seal the battery compartments from any water, period. lots of improvements possible, and i would love to see the evolution of those improvements, such that an end product could be made that could even be marketed. now, on that note, if you did eventually go to a roof solar cover, i would want to add stability mechanisms or blast and, pontoons to the sides. but i would also keep the transforming ability of folded panels, so then you could in theory have a single central panel on the roof, and a transforming flower like array built in, such that once deployed, the stationary roof panel is uncovered, and you increase the panel area immensely, without too much stability changes.
i swear who ever can get to market with one of these small efficient solar boats is going to do very well i thought i would start to see them a couple years ago but still no one has
If you use flexible solar panel I bet you could use them as a sail, too ;) And save on weight. Even the rigid ones could work this way. Alternatively, could add a pontoon so that it has the pontoon in the water when its lowered, to take stress off the panel.
While it's a cool idea to use flexible panels as a sail. It would sadly destroy the flexible panels pretty quickly.
A herd of gooses is called a "gaggle" of geese. It made me chuckle.
Nice video and great idea of the boat.
I'd like to imagine the blackberry guy looking out on the water from his yacht, seeing your boat towing along 6 kayakers, and saying to himself,
"Yes. This is the technology I envisioned for the future."
Awesome! There is nothing better than that freedom. Concerns with survivability in bad weather, and with the UV damage against longevity. But I think you proved that riverine work may be quite functional. Double sided panels will allow you to upright both panels for whatever, while still giving good gain from reflection.
I love seeing where these adventures go; I wasn't sure what was going to happen when you did the boat restoration video all those months ago, but I'm always pleased to see when a new chapter comes out.
This dog ist the cutest creature! Invite him/her more often. It's heartwarming.
Glad that starfish survived the near miss with the anchor ;) great video as always.
At 6:08 there is a wooden fishingboat with a norwegian flag! Neat! Your projects are nice to watch. Keep it up!!
I have an idea I think you'd like if you ever do a roof. You could make a roof that is held up by 4 (or 3) robotically adjustable bars, that attach to the solar panel with ball joints. Then have those bars auto adjust via an array of light sensors (or anything, lots of solutions), to always have your panel pointed at the sun!
a three axis motion platform would require 6 struts, not 4 or 3, (unless you wanted a huge support in the middle of the boat,) and would be astronomically heavy and complex for a boat.
@@williamcampbell9859 Only one axis would be needed to replicate the existing solution, and three axes would never be needed - why would you need to swivel the panels?
@@MrManningata true, swivel is not necessary - two axes would be sufficient to quote "always have your panel pointed at the sun".
I hereby invite you to design a system with 3 or 4 linear actuators holding up the panel, attached via ball joints, that can rotate the panel in two axes.
I foresee a day when a sail could be made of PV viable materials.
The best of both worlds.
Sorry we're late it got cloudy...
I am from the Midwest where we have heards of cows and gaggles of Geese. Every time you say heard of gooses, l can't stop laughing 😂
Amazing video
You’re a really clever fella, I’m impressed by every single one of your projects and tests.
… so, I was very surprised when you used the (non) word ‘gooses’ 😂. Geese mate, the plural is geese 😁👍
Do you reckon you could make an automatic glider? It could fly forever
He already did it lel
The most underrated part of the video is the CNC “fender cushions”
This is the kind of project I wanted to do at one point, unfortunately it's a bit pricey lll
Auto angle optimizing solar panel mounts would be rad. Optical scheme for detecting direction of the sun with respect to the boat’s current heading. Use that information to control panel angle - elevation and maybe twist. Also include a sea state detection logic to put the panels at a safe angle when encountering waves. Future project.
Using the panels as a dronopad was fun.
Looking forward to the V2 boat! Should have a fixed roof and foldout panels too..
His absolute refusal to say 'geese' keeps me watching.
I think the side mounted system is great! Better for trailering, basically twice the area compared to just a roof and it makes use of otherwise unused space. Very inspiring video.👍🏼
🎉😂🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
This tech should be present in all life boats out there
Simple projects that you can do in other clips. Put a kilometer of solar panels on the boat, and in another clip, put F16 on the boat.
This is very cool. I agree with your idea that a displacement hull would be a better choice. The locally made (North Bend) EPCarry pushes 10-14’ rowboats to roughly hull speed (4ish knots) on only 250W of power. The owner there also wrote a blog post a couple of years ago about playing with solar boats. Interesting takeaways there (besides the hull form) are his use of high aspect and long RC airplane props.
The ultimate conversion would be on a Duffy 21, the electric rental boats on Lake Union. They were designed by local sailing legend Bob Perry and are very efficient through the water. The standard motor and lead acid batteries could be greatly improved with BLDC motors and LFP batteries. The roof would give you lots of room for the solar array.
I look forward to seeing what comes next in this project. I’m a big sailor but also love EV boats. We have a 10’ Gig Harbor rowboat that is great with the EPCarry, but something longer and with solar would be a fun next step.
Mounting solar panel on those bench is so smart!!
"We are at a superfund site"
2 minutes later
"We just tasted the water"
I loved seeing all the marine wildlife from the sub’s camera!
I love it when I get to learn about a cool industry product or technical thing from a sponsor spot instead of just having the same trendy stuff that's in every TH-cam video. I'll make an exception for your Factor ads because having a quick meal available in the shop or out testing a project is much more interesting than just eating them at home 😂
Large ships using the motor pod design run everything backwards to avoid that issue with the wake. One of Adam Savage's recent videos of him checking out underneath a new ship in drydock had a good explanation but it is basically to avoid the imbalance issue with the prop.
Bros --- quality time with quality dudes and quality wisdom --- and of course quality subscribers -- thank you for this wonderful video --- we keep learning from you cool dudes
We needed someone like you to actually go and do this kind of thing
A solar roof would be much less flexible *and* provide cover from the rain! You could make the legs fold up and tuck under the solar panels so that the roof is 'flat packed' for transport. They could engage in one receiver each built into the hull when up.
Funny that you’re too lazy to make a roof but an overly complicated and stability sacrificing folding system is no problem 😂
he had to plug the cad software for the sponsor probably@@WankelMe
On the solar panels, i think that putting another hinge point in the middle of the solar panel would be a good idea. Then you can have both panels oriented in the sun simply by twisting the panel closest to the sun so it faces it and having the other regular. jm2c
Tech Ingredients built an electric catamaran very similar to a launch. That would be a very cool project along with the solar.
Love the sightseeing around Seattle in these videos
What a great project. I've always heard flexible solar panels have a short life unless they are kept free from excessive vibration and flex. I just subscribed to the channel to see future updates and projects. Thanks for the adventure.
Having owned one of the Wintech Cats for rowing coaching I can confirm that they are very easily drive and would make a great platform for your project. Just a lot more expensive than a renovated Boston!
Congratulations you made it. You maybe make a solar mini yacht or a bigger boat with a sleeping cabin and sleep in it overnight if in the waters there isn’t to much boat traffic
Another awesome build.... time for a Lake Roosevelt test! Grand Coulee to the Canuck border would be a good test!
Looks like a great way to power a boat. Just add some motors that can adjust the angle of the panels
I loved the industrial maritime tour. Excellent
i love the ish out of your videos, my dude. every single one is a treat. please continue!
Come for the content, stay for the songs!😂
Hi Daniel! Do you know about Berkeley Pit in Montana? It is a lake so toxic that migrating birds that land on it are scared away by people otherwise they risk dying after a few hours. I think your solar powered boat could help them a lot in this mission, as it could be programmed to autonomously go around the lake and scare the birds (and save their lives). Check out the story of this lake (Insider Business has a nice video about it on TH-cam), they use a lot of tools like drones, lasers and fake bullets to scare birds. I think an autonomous solar powered boat could be a huge help to them. Keep up with the great work!
Cool video! You need to have life jackets (PFD) for you and every passenger on your boat. Easy way to get an expensive ticket.
18:06 “Look at him he’s shy” *Proceeds to flashbang the crab* 😂
I actually think the best configuration would be a solar roof with these 2 panels as sides for the extra juice, on a catamaran hull though. That would give you a nice amount of power to either go faster or make the boat slightly bigger/heavier. But at the same time the panels could also make an enclosed cabin to shield you from rain if you do manage to make slightly water proof.
Peter Sripol did one with the solar panel on the roof two years ago. Solar panels are a pretty cool idea if you're not in a hurry.
That rig is seriously dope. I want one.
Next step is to add a small air pump to get some bubbles between the boat and the water to decrease the power needed. If the air pump does not need to much power you could have more solar power left over to drive faster
Love these trips you take with the solar boat. Even tho I've lived in Seattle my whole life. Your trip around lake Washington or this trip up the duwamish seem like such fun adventures. Thanks for filming it all!
I know that little park with a "boat launch" off airport way too. The video doesn't do how steep it really is justice 😂. Glad u made it out safely
Incredible job! I have been dreaming about doing something like this out here in Florida. Definitely want to do a roof design so I can get out of the brutal sun.
Now imagine this with rigid panels that can make 3x the power!
14:56
That barges first stop is where I live. Cool to see it there!
Badass, im doing a similar project albeit snaller scale. Im just using a 10'2" plastic jon/bass boat with a 7' x 10' rectangular umbrella which ive tested at speed, in big waves, and high winds. The key is guide/support wires on all 4 corners which make it surprisingly stable. I just need to acquire some flexible light solar panels to mount on the top of the umbrella as im already powering it with a 700 watt trolling motor.
No matter what the neighbors say, we like you!
Remember to get a carabiner hook with the locking nut, boats in a marina that are connected via regular carbainer hooks is at risk of the carabiners unhooking over time due to waves and wind and several boats have gotten loose because they had only been secured by 2 carabiners.
I can almost guarantee you that anchor is gonna find a way out of that carabiner one day, simple fix to not lose it c:
I think adding outriggers to the bottom on the solar cells would help. This reduces the load and moment on the seats. This could easily be done with pool noodles and PVC pipe. Sealing the PVC would add also add bouncy.
You could 3d print a hydrofoil for your whaler and increase efficiency and top speed, also improving stability in waves.
One alternative to increase range and speed I’d recommend is a small sail setup (like a Sunfish sail), with a small retractable swinging keel or centerboard setup.
If you need any help with design, let me know! Sails are cheaper than extra batteries
Personally, I would’ve taken one panel from each wing, and make a small roof to give you some shade and also limit the torque on the mounting hardware while also giving you more maneuverability because you’d be more narrow. Two long wings on each side and a small roof would probably look pretty cool too.
My only worry is that the roof might shade the side panels at certain angles and times.. but you seem to have more than enough power so that’s fine.
Either way, I’m loving this boat and looking forward to mk2!
Remember to always bring paddles as backup just in case something go wrong
4:44 They sold their phones so expensive, that it doesnt matter that they are crap xD
7:13 Oh, I love these swimming houses. They are so cool, as you can live dry when it come to flooding due to unstoping rain.
The way this is set up, you could use a pull configuration for the props, getting clean flow into them.
this + a desalinator = living on the ocean year round eating fish, let's go!
Say, I like that you used a Whaler,, proper resistance for a average boat makes the test must more realistic and valuable.. Great Job Mate !!
if you would have used bifacial solar panels, you could have harvested the reflection of the water surface... please try in new video :)
Looks like a fun time cruising around and looking at stuff. I think you could build a roof for the solar panels pretty quickly with a TIG welder (or maybe MIG with aluminum friendly wire?) That's a skill that would serve you well going forward. The precut parts would go together really easily, or you could make it out of tubing stock.
With welding skills from that, you could make a life-size tank with the tank tech you've been working on.